Bottom-dumping car.



No. 739,914. PATEN'IED' SEPT. 29,1903,

" s. OTIS."

BOTTOM DUMPING GAR.

APPLICATION FILED IEB. 9. 1903.

no ODEL.

UNITED STATES.

Patented September 29, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

SPENCER OTIS, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO NATIONAL COAL DUMP CAR COMPANY, OF SOUTH DAKOTA, OF RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA, AND CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF SOUTH DAKOTA.

'BOTTOM-DUMP'ING CAR.

SPFCIFICATION'forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,914, dated September 29, 190 3. Application filed February 9, 1903. Serial No. 142,484. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SPENCER OTIS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois,'have 5 invented: certain new and useful Improvements injBottom-Dumping Cars, of which the following is a specification.

This invention, as above stated, relates to' that class of cars known as bottom-dumping carsthat is, cars provided with a substantially fiat floor portion formed of a plurality of dumping-doors arranged at eachside of the longitudinal center of thecar and particularly to the means by which such dump- I ing-sections, which I will hereinafter term dumping-doors, are raised and lowered and held in closed position, all of which will more fully hereinafter appear.

The principal object of the invention is to; provide a bottom-dumping car with self-adjustable chain mechanism by which the dumping-doors may beraised and lowered.

Further objects of the invention are to provide simple, economical, and efficient mechg anism by which one or more of the dumping-E doors may be heldin closed position while the rest of the doors are free to operate, all. of which will more fully hereinafter appear.. The invention consists principally in a bot-.

3o tom-dumping car havinga door or doors'aras hereinafter set forth.

The invention consists, furtherandfinally, 40 in the features, combinations, and details of construction hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a transverse sectional-elevation of aportion 15 of a. car constructedin accordance with these.

improvements, Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional detail taken on the line 2 of Fig. 1 looking in the direction .of the arrow. Fig.

3 is a sectional detail taken on the line 3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow;

and Fig. 4 is an enlarged sectional view show- ,ing the independent door-locking mechanism,

describe that which I consider to be new,

taken in connection with so much as is old,

,as will properly disclose the invention to others and enable those skilled in the art to practicethe same, leaving out of consideration other and well-known mechanism which, 1 if set forth herein,would tend only to confusion, prolixity, and ambiguity.

. In the art to which this invention relates it is well known that where rock-shaft and chain or similar mechanisms are usedfor the purpose of opening andclosing the swinging doors of. a bottom-dumping car such chain mechanisms are secured independently to each lateral edge of the door and to the rockshaft. It'is further well known that such j chain mechanisms, owing to the inequality of thestrains placed thereon, are apt soon or late to become unequally expanded, .so that when the door is being opened or closed more or less of the strain is apt to come on one chain than on the other, all of which tends to themanifest injury of the chain mechanism as well as other parts. This invention therefore is intended primarily to provide a self-adjusting mechanism, such as a single chain passed around the free end of the door, so'that any inequalities in the expansion or contraction of the chain will afiect the entire chain and not a portion thereof, allof which will be more fully hereinafter set forth.

In constructing the bottom-dumping car in accordance with :these improvements ,Iprovide a supporting-frameportion having a plurality of center sills a and transverse deckbeams b. This supporting-frame portion is also provided with upwardly-extending. side boards 0 and end boards d, which inc'lose the floor of the bottom portion of the car, so that it may be used as a dumping-bottom'car ora 5 gondola car, as occasion requires ornecessity demands.

In order to provide the bottom-dumping portion of the car, I make a plurality of swinging door-sections e and pivotally secure roo them to the framework of the car at and along each side of the longitudinal center thereof, so that their free ends extend toward the outside of the car and when open swing downwardly and inwardly, so that the load, as can be seen from examination of Fig. 1, may be discharged to one or both sides of the railway-track.

In order to provide for a self-adjusting chain mechanism by which the swinging sections may be opened and closed and other mechanisms to be used in connection therewith, one or more rock-shaftsf are provided and arranged longitudinally along each side of the car and inside of the side boards, covered and protected by suitable housing 9. Attached to each of these rock-shafts is a lifting chain or chains h, which has a link or links 1' inserted in each side thereof, formed of a flattened bar of iron or steel passing through a similar-shaped perforation in the dumping-door, so as to prevent rotation, but permit of sliding movement. part of the chain, as at j, is passed around underneath the free edge of the door and in a groove 76, formed in a convex bracket Z, which is secured to the under side of the door, particularly as shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

From the foregoing description of construction and operation it will be seen that no matter how each side of the chain is contracted or expanded such contraction, expansion, or inequalities are compensated for by a movement of the chain in the bracket portion, so that as the rock-shaft is rotated in either direction the chain mechanism is wound or unwound with the same strain on every portion or link thereof, all of which will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art.

Itis well known that when bottom-dumping cars are used for the purpose of discharging coal or ore to each side of the track in a great many instances discharged material is dumped directlyintowagons forthepurposeof transporting the same. It is also well known that in nearly every instance these dumpingcars are so constructed and arranged that all of the dumping-doors on each side of the car must be dumped at one and the same operation. It would seem, therefore, that it is highly desirable to provide some mechanism by which one or more of these doors may be kept and held in closed position while the other doors are free to be operated as seems desirable or necessary. In order to accomplish this result, I provide each side board of which is arranged a hooked depending bolt n, the lower end of which is provided with a swinging button or latch 17. When the parts are in their closed position, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4, this swinging button is arranged underneath the free edge of the dumping-door and in contact with a locking-plate q. When it is desirable to open but one door, the door that it is desired to open, the operator hits the outer free end of the button 19 therefor The lower with a hammer, wrench, or similar article, so as to swing it around and away from contact with the free edge of the dumping-door. By leaving the rest of the doors in their locked position the operator may rotate the rocking shaft, thereby permitting such single door to be opened and the material opposite the same dumped into a car or bin, as-occasion may require,all of-which will be understood and appreciated by those skilled in the art.

I claim- 1. In a car of the class described, the combination'ofa supporting-framework, a bottom portion formed of one or more dumping-doors pivoted at their inner edge and with their free or discharging ends extending outside to a point at or near the outer side of the car, rock-shaft mechanism, and chain mechanism secured to the rock-shaft and passed around and under the free discharging end of the dumping-door section, substantially as described.

2. In a car of the class described, the combination of asupporting-framework, a bottomdumping portion formed of a plurality of dumping-doors arranged longitudinally of the car with their free edges at ornear the outer side of the car, rock=shaft mechanism, a single chain for each door the ends of which are secured to the rock-shaft and adapted to be wound around the same and passed downwardly through and underneath the lower portion of the free end of the dischargingdoor, substantially as described.

3. In a car of the class described, the combination ofasupporting-frame portion, a bottom-dumping portion formed of a plurality of swinging door-sections pivotally secured to the supporting-framework of the car at their inner edges and to each side of the longitudinal center of the same with their free edges extending out to a point at or near the outside of the car, a grooved bracket secured to the lower portion of the free end of each dumping-door section, rock-shaft mechanism, anda single chain for each dumping-door section the free ends of which are secured to the rock-shaft and passed down, around and through the grooved bracket on the lower side of the dumpingdoor, substantially as described.

4. In a car of the class described, the combination of a su pporting-framework, a bottomdumping portion formed of a plurality of swinging doors pivotally secured at their inner edges to the framework of the car and at each side of the longitudinal center of the same, a grooved bracket secured to the lower surface of .each of said dumping-doors and at or near its free edge, rock-shaft mechanism, a single chain for each dumping-door section the free ends of which are secured to the rockshaft and adapted to be wound and unwound around the same and passed down, around and through the grooved bracket on each dumping-door, and fiatted links in such chains slidingly mounted in elongated perforations in each dumping-door to permit a sliding movement of the chain therethrough' but prevent a turning movement thereof, substantially as described.

5. In a car of the class described, the combination of a supporting-framework, abottomdumping portion formedof a plurality of swinging'door-sections laid ina flat plane and pivoted at their inner edges to the framework of the car with theirfree outer edges extending to a point at or near the outer side of the car, and latch mechanism for each section to hold and lock such sections in their closed position and permit one or more of such doors to be operated as desired, substantiallyas described.

6. In a car of the class described, the combination of a supporting-framework, a bottom-dumping portion formed of a plurality of swinging doors laid in a flat plane longitudinally of the car pivoted at their inner edges to the supporting-framework and with their free outer edges extending to a point or points at or near the outer side of the car, latch mechanism for each and every swinging door-section formed of aplurality of depending bolts having a swinging button on the lower end thereof arranged to contact and hold such swinging door-sections in their closed position, substantially as described.

7. In a car of the class described, the combination of a supporting framework, a bottom dumping portion formed of a plurality of swinging doors laid in a flat-plane and arranged at each side of the longitudinal center of the car pivoted at their inner edges and with their free ends extending out to a point or points near the outer side of the car, and latch mechanism formed of a plurality of depending removable bolts having swinging buttons at their lower ends adapted to contact and engage with the lower surface of the swinging doors and hold the same in their locked position while permitting one or more such doors to be operated as desired, substantially as described.

8. In a car of the class described, the combination of a supporting-framework, a bottom-dumping portion formed of a plurality of swinging doors laid in a flat plane and arranged at each side of the longitudinal center of the car pivoted at their inner edges and with their free ends extending out to a point or points near the outer side of the car, and latch mechanism formed of a plurality of depending removable bolts having swinging buttons at their lower ends adapted to contact and engage, with the lower surface of the swinging doors and hold the same in their locked position while permitting one or more such doors to be operated as desired, with rock-shaft and chain mechanism for opening and closing such doors, substantially as described.

SPENOER OTIS. Witnesses:

HARRY I. ORoMER, A. S. SAVOIE. 

